Bob Barr
7th District
Georgia

Congress of the United States

As you may know, I have written the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,
of which I am a member, asking that he call a full committee meeting for
the purpose of discussing the initiation of an impeachment inquiry of President
Clinton and Vice President Gore. This request is based on numerous reported
instances of abuse of office, some of which are the subject of investigation
by your office.

In response to my requests, Chairman Hyde has indicated that while the Committee
staff has been asked to examine previous impeachment proceedings so as to
be prepared for action on this matter, it is premature in his view to proceed
further without evidence of a "smoking gun" with respect to one
or more of the many instances of abuse that are now the subject of several
Congressional investigations.

In light of the recent declaration by your office that your Whitewater-related
investigations have uncovered an "obstruction of the administration
of justice," I would like to take this opportunity to respectfully
call your attention to Subsection (c) of Section 595 of Title 28 of the
United States Code. This subsection specifies that "[a]n independent
counsel shall advise the House of Representatives of any substantial and
credible information which such independent counsel receives, in carrying
out the independent counsel's responsibilities under this chapter, that
may constitute grounds for impeachment." Because of the unique role
of the House Judiciary Committe in the impeachment process explicated in
the Constitution, I trust that you will fulfill your statutory obligation
by promptly conveying any such information covered by Subsection (c) to
the Committee.